Awkward Surprise
by Lord of Kavaka
Summary: One-Shot. During the middle of the night, Alexis goes to the kitchen for a glass of orange juice, only to find an awkward surprise awaits her.


*Just a quick one-shot. This idea popped into my head and I just had to write it. Takes place sometime in Season 4.

* * *

><p><strong>Awkward Surprise<strong>

Alexis tiptoed down the stairs, cautiously looking around for her father and… and his "lady friend". She frowned. No one had told her anything, but she was a smart girl, and knew that her father was in love with Detective Beckett. It was obvious, really. Well… to anyone with a brain. So, last night, as she was tossing and turning, worrying about college letters and admissions, she had been startled when she heard a woman's laugh echo up from downstairs.

And now, walking down the stairs into the open kitchen area, her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted the littered trail of discarded clothing leading across the floor from the door to her father's office. Some of the garments were obviously a woman's, as a bra was hanging off the back of one of the armchairs in the lounge area.

Alexis just stopped there and stared at the trail of clothing, frowning and shaking her head. She sighed, and turned to go get herself a glass of orange juice. Despite how much she wanted him to stop shadowing Detective Beckett, Alexis was still hoping the two of them would stop dancing around each other. She wanted her dad to be happy, and he had said that being with Beckett, even just as a friend and work partner, was enough for him, at least for now. But Alexis was unsure just how long her father could hold out.

Letting out a sigh, and glancing back at the trail of discarded garments, she wished her dad hadn't just messed things up by jumping into bed with some bimbo because of… "urges"... she closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to rid it of the images that suddenly started to bombard her mind.

Opening the refrigerator and turning her attention away from her father's mistake—in her opinion—_I __mean, __come __on, __if __he __wants __Detective __Beckett __to __know __that __he__'__s __serious __about __her, __he __shouldn__'__t __be __having __a __fling __with __some __floozy, __who__'__s __just __interested __in __him __because __of __his __fame!_ She huffed, now more angry than disappointed in him. Honestly, who was the parent here?

As she shook her head, and reached for the carton of orange juice, Alexis heard the office door open and the sounds of bare feet padding across the floor, heading in her direction. She froze, and almost panicked. She was going to have to meet this woman face to face. Its not like this would be the first time she'd met one of her father's flings this way, but… it just seemed more painful now, knowing that he was ruining his shot to convince Beckett that he was not a philandering playboy anymore.

Taking a deep breath, Alexis closed the refrigerator and turned to face her father's one-night-stand.

The carton fell to the floor and orange juice splashed all over the place as she let out a yelp of surprise. The woman she was facing, jumped and let out a high-pitched noise of shock as well.

"Alexis!" the woman, clad in nothing but her father's buttoned down shirt, stared at her with wide eyes.

"De… Detective Beckett? What… what… Oh my god!" Alexis flushed pink with embarrassment, as she quickly turned around, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Here, let… let me help you clean this mess up," Kate Beckett said softly, and Alexis could hear the detective collecting some paper towels.

Taking a deep breath, her cheeks still warmed with her blush, Alexis turned back around, finding the detective blushing just as much as she was, her eyes looking cautiously up at her as she kneeled on the floor wiping up the spilled orange juice.

"I… I'm sorry," Alexis gasped as she grabbed some towels and joined Kate on the floor. "I… I just…"

"Didn't expect it to be me?" Kate finished.

"Yes… I mean… I was hoping it was you, but… and…," Alexis let out a hot breath. "God, this is so embarrassing."

"You're telling me," Kate chuckled softly, her cheeks growing redder. "I'm wearing nothing under this shirt!"

Alexis went even more pink than she already was. Kate's eyes grew wide.

"Um… forget I said that," the detective quickly said, looking extremely mortified.

"No… it's… it's okay, I'm… I'm just glad it's you and not some bimbo," Alexis said, as they finished wiping up the mess.

Kate smiled. "So am I."

"Hey, Kate… what's taking you so lo—OH!"

The two stood and blushed brightly at seeing Castle standing there in nothing but his boxers. His eyes were wide as they darted back and forth between Kate and his daughter. After a moment, when it became clear that the writer was frozen in shock, completely tongue-tied, Kate nudged Alexis and gave a nod of her head. The two bustled about the room, finishing the task of cleaning the mess, all the while Castle stood fixed in his spot, his jaw dropped, utterly silent.

When they finished, and each had retrieved what they had originally come out for, Kate turned to Alexis and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I… I hope this isn't awkward for you," she said. "I mean… me and your dad…" she paused, looking worried, "_together_."

Alexis smiled and shook her head, blushing slightly. "No… not at all. I… I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks, Alexis," Kate smiled and gave her a half hug. "Why don't you go back up to your room and I'll deal with Mr. Freeze over there."

Alexis giggled. "Okay, Kate… see you in the morning?"

"Yes," Kate beamed, looking happier than Alexis had ever seen her before.

As Alexis tiptoed back up the stairs to go to her room, she arched her neck over her shoulder, and watched as Kate walked over to her dad, slowly placing an arm around his waist.

"Hey, you still there, Writer Boy?" she heard the detective ask.

Her father shook his head. "Huh? Oh… that… that was awkward," he said. "Not exactly the way I planned on telling Alexis about us."

"It's alright, though, right?" Kate inquired, sounding worried.

Alexis smiled as she watched her father's face brighten up, his expression one of complete happiness, something that had been lacking in his usual cheerful manner for the majority of the summer and the months that followed when he had begun shadowing the detective again.

"Absolutely," her dad said, wrapping his arms around the detective. "Because after tonight… you should know, I'm not letting go."

"That's what I was hoping you were going to say," Alexis heard Kate reply, and then she watched as the detective pushed up on her toes and kissed her father.

Before things got to a point where she would be scarred for life, Alexis scampered away and back to her room. Now that was an awkward surprise she had not expected… though she had no complaints. Smiling, she closed her door, and padded over to her bed.


End file.
